Page 29 of Line of Sight

Friday, May 5, 1995

I DON’Tattend funerals as a general rule, but I made sure to be present at Brad’s. Not to do so might have aroused suspicion, especially since so many students attended, an indication of how popular he’d been. That made it even easier to blend in with the crowd.

His family stood at the graveside in Mount Auburn Cemetery. It was easy to spot Brad’s younger brother—they had the same red hair. He had to be about fifteen. Another boy stood beside him, comforting him.

I wasn’t about to join the line of mourners to shake Brad’s parents’ hands and tell them I was sorry for their loss, because I wasn’t. It had been either Brad or me, and he was no loss to the world, whereas I might make a real difference.

I was Someone.

I wasn’t surprised to find the others making a beeline for me after the burial. I’d spotted them during the service, Amy’s and Jennifer’s eyes red-rimmed from crying, their faces blotchy andsounattractive. Greg and Jason stood beside them, their backs ramrod straight, the girls leaning on them as if their legs couldn’t support them.

I could appear mournful, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to shed tears over him like the rest of the saps around me.

We stood beneath a spreading tree at a distance from the rest of the mourners. Brad’s boyfriend, Sean, stayed at the grave, head bowed.

You’ll find someone else. Not that I condoned that kind of deviance. Yet more proof that Brad had needed to be eliminated.

Amy glanced around before speaking in an urgent whisper. “Did you do it? Did you murder Brad?”

I didn’t deign to respond, and as I’d intended, they took my silence for confession.

Jason gasped. “But why? What did he ever do to you? He wasn’t a threat.”

I arched my eyebrows. “Is that what you believe? Well, I’m sorry to spoil your image of Brad, but he was about to become just that. So the way I see it, I had no choice. It was a matter of self-preservation.”

Greg stared at him. “If you could kill him, you could kill any one of us.”

I smiled. “How true. But that’s not what I want to do. The Secret Murder Club, remember?”

They gaped at me as if I’d grown a second head.

I sighed heavily. “This might be the last time we meet, but only if that’s the way you want it.”

“What do you mean?” Jason demanded.

“Nothing has changed. My offer still stands. You all have my number, and I’ll be waiting for one of you to call me. One more thing. I won’t share with the others. It’ll just be between you and me.” I paused. “Just remember the rule. It has to be a murder to remove an obstacle from your path, your life.”

Amy gave a bitter laugh. “Yeah, right, I’d forgotten. You only commit ethical murders, don’t you?”

Jennifer speared me with an intense gaze. “I suppose you’ll tell us next that Brad was an obstacle?”

“Indeed he was. In fact, he was a threat.”

Anything that threatened to stop me would be eliminated.

Or anyone.

The mourners began to drift away, and I took that as my excuse to leave. I said my goodbyes and headed back to my car, not bothering to turn around and see if they were watching my departure.

I’d lied, of course. My plans included the four of them—and yeah, I did want to kill them.

But not yet.

Chapter Nineteen

Monday, December 10, 2018

09:30 a.m.